A HUGE surge in migration has caused the number of foreigners living in the UK to almost double to 7.5 million in just 10 years.

The massive leap revealed in the latest Census means that 13 per cent – around one in eight – of the population in England and Wales were born overseas, up from 4.6 million in 2001.

In London the figures are even more dramatic – with white Britons in the minority for the first time.

Only 45 per cent of the city’s 8.2 million population classed itself as white British on the 2011 Census forms compared with 58 per cent a decade ago. One in three London residents is a foreigner and one in four is not a British citizen.

Other data which shows the effect of Labour’s years of open-door migration policies include the statistic that nearly three million people live in households where no adults speak English as their main language.

The total population of England and Wales was 56.1 million, a seven per cent increase on 2001 – and 55 per cent of the increase was due

to migration. In other key results, the number of Christians fell 4.1 million to 33.2 million while the number of Muslims went up almost 2 per cent to 4.8 per cent of the population.

And the top countries of birth outside Britain were India, Pakistan – and Poland.

Critics of immigration claim that the Census data confirms that Labour’s wilful destruction of border controls has changed the face of Britain.

And they warn that the current Coalition is still not doing enough to stem the tide and protect public services from being overstretched as schools, housing and hospitals come under pressure from increasing numbers of immigrants.

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of MigrationWatch UK, was forthright in his condemnation of former Prime Minister Tony Blair’s decision to allow in so many immigrants.

“This is the clear result of Labour’s mass immigration policy which brought nearly three million immigrants to England and Wales in 10 years,” he said.

“Immigration on this scale is completely unacceptable to the vast majority of the public and is obviously unsustainable.

“Nothing could more clearly demonstrate the need to get immigration back under control so as to allow times for integration to occur.”

There were also calls for the UK to withdraw from the European Union in an bid to regain control of our own borders.

“These are significant numbers and they give serious pause for thought,” said Nigel Farage MEP, and the leader of Ukip.

“They prove that this Government, and its predecessors, have completely lost the plot when it comes to the state of migration in our country.

“At no time, and in no manifesto, did any of the establishment parties tell the people that this was happening. At no time, and in no manifesto, did they ever ask permission for this vast change to our social make-up.

“All we have seen is the wringing of hands and the desperate hope that no one would notice. People do notice.

“They notice when social services are put under strain, they notice when the Government demands the right to build on 1,500 square miles to provide new housing to deal with the population growth, they notice when wages are depressed and the dole queue grows.

“We have to get serious about migration. We have to take back control of our borders.

“And the only way to do that is to withdraw from the European Union which now decides who, and who does not, have the right to live here.”

The main reason for the explosion in the foreign-born population is the accession of 12 countries in central and eastern Europe to the EU, giving them the right to live and work in Britain.

A second surge is expected when 29 million Bulgarians and Romanians will gain the right to live and work unrestricted in Britain in 2014 under European “freedom of movement” rules.

The Census demonstrates the impact of immigration, particularly from Poland.

The population of Poles in England and Wales has grown ninefold over the decade.

In 2001, Poland did not even feature in the top 10 countries of people born outside the UK. In 2011, it was second with more than 500,000 people (a rise of 89 per cent) from Poland now living in England and Wales.

The top nation of birth outside the UK was India. Pakistan was third, followed by Ireland and Germany.

England and Wales have also become more diverse. In 2001, 87 per cent of the population were white British, compared with 80 per cent today.

Immigration on this scale is completely unacceptable to the vast majority of the public and is obviously unsustainable

Sir Andrew Green, chairman of MigrationWatch UK

Dr Scott Blinder, deputy director of the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford, said: “The last decade has seen a very noticeable change in the population of England and Wales, with the foreign-born population increasing from nine per cent of in 2001 to 13 per cent in 2011.

“The growth has been driven, in particular, by the increase in the number of Polish-born people and the increase in the number of Indian-born people. These twocountries alone account for more than a quarter of the increase in the size of the migrant population.”

The Census was sent to 26 million households in England and Wales in March last year.

Guy Goodwin, the Office for National Statistics’ director of Census, said: “These statistics paint a picture of society and help us all plan for the future using accurate information at a local level. This is just the tip of the iceberg of Census statistics.

“Further rich layers of vital information will be revealed as we publish more detailed data for very local levels over the coming months.”

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Census gives us a picture of the UK in 2011. London is a very diverse city. Our policy is to bring down the level of net migration, in particular tackling abuses of the immigration system in the past.”